Evolution of War
by Staradventure55
Summary: Technology can only carry a soldier so far, only the ideals they believe in are actually worth anything. Ideals that will dictate humanities' future. From the beginning of terraforming, creatures inhabiting this planet brought out the best in them. Even in war, the creatures remained by their side in battle. The fate of two life forms rested in victory.
1. Chapter 1

Vanu's Evolution: Rising

The survival of the human race was dependent on the occupation of the new planet named Auraxis. With the clashing of ideals since the very terraforming of this planet, war quickly became the norm and almost never ending throughout the entire day. During the earlier days of terraforming, the planet was inhabited by unique fauna that were nicknamed Pokemon. Unlike the fauna on Earth, these possessed powers beyond reason. Every crater, disruption of the natural balance in the world was all due to these creatures' influence. Despite their god-like abilities, their ability to adapt went beyond the climate, but their kindness toward the aliens that invaded their own world. Quickly both humans and Pokemon formed a bond that would carry to their graves. With the slow but unavoidable rise of the first two major armies came alliances.

The New Conglomerate, freedom fighters who opposed the supposed dictatorship of the Terran Republic. They claimed to be maintaining the peace, but the New Conglomerate thought otherwise. Behind the scenes was the Vanu Sovereignty, originally normal scientists who saw the pointlessness of their war but was dragged into it for the advancement of humanity was hindered. Through the discovery then manipulation of alien artifacts left to them from a long gone civilization, they became the most advanced army on Auraxis. Equally match, they all resorted to letting the pokemon join their campaigns. They soon understood how little they knew of these creatures, showing off hostility so far from their normal moods it made them unsettling to watch during the early days of war. Seeing how adaptable these creatures could truly be, they refocused their preferences for leaders of squads. Looking for the human like egg-group, they looked for those who could share their ideals and wield weapons as effectively as their usage of strategy. They looked to the Ghost, Fairy, and the Dark then Psychic.

Through the eyes of an unknown being, a darkened vision caught glimpse of an armada of foot soldiers running forward through the tundra. Despite the cold, the being could barely make out its senses. Pain spread across its chest and left leg, but still attempted to crawl away from the rocks surrounding it. Its hands covered in snow, breathing became increasingly more difficult with each attempt to move forward, barely able to see the frozen air move out its mouth. Giant vehicules went by on the ground as well as air, the only thing it could recognize was the color purple that was common among the approaching army. Sudden energy lights came from all the soldiers and tanks, accompanied by animal-like beings it couldn't identify. Its plea was overshadowed by constant firing of their weapons. Upon getting away from the rocks, it noticed in the distance another group attempting to intercept the purple beings. Fear quickly spread its mind to the point of near consumption, it tried desperately to reach the purple beings. A few inches further caused it to roll into a ditch, making its body lose whatever energy it had left. All that was left to see from its hindered vision was the darkened sky lit slightly by waves of pure light, and flying vehicles going by without so much as stopping for its aid. A lone purple soldier approached the hole it was in before its will finally gave up, along with its vision.

Its will and body gave up its struggle, but the remaining conscious questioned why it had a will to begin with. It should have died according to it, but it still felt its slightly numb fingers as well as sense other lifeforms surrounding it. To dispel this confusion, it fought back the darkness with any energy it may have recovered. It struggled to slowly open its eyes, the darkened world still existed but it possessed an up close view of a purple soldier's helmet. It tried to reach up, being quickly reminded of the fight its body long surrendered for it refused its commands. It knew they were moving, for every now and then there were sudden bumps. The energy is recovered quickly got used up, it slipped back into its unconscious state. When it finally came once again, its will had slightly more fight in it than the last. The vibrations going through its body prompted it to find the source. Upon opening its eyes slowly. It was slightly blinded by the few rays of sunlight in the air. The sun began creeping its way up the hills, casting a deep orange haze throughout the sky. The world was moving, once again having the up close view of the same soldier carrying her from before. This being was unknown to it, any that would be comforting hid behind the mask. There was a sense of danger, it knew not where it was going. A counter argument however, when it should have died still now draws breath. It decided not to jump to conclusions, mostly because it had no fight left in it. Instead of needless resistance, it left its brittle life in the hands of this masked figure. It once again drifted off into the unconscious.

Alot of time had passed in the unconscious world, not like it would be able to distinguish time anyway. Its mind prepared itself for another go at the world of the living, the tundra's bitterness now done away with somehow. Its body was somewhat free of fatigue, a renewal of power coursing through its veins. The chest and leg remained sore, but not consumed in a painful sensation. The numbness disappeared throughout its entire body. With its strength returned, it easily opened its eyes to be met with a blue ceiling. Despite its renewed power, its head was aching. It held its head from the sides, trying to gather its scattered thoughts. Upon rising its upper body, it found itself in some sort of gray bed without covers. The other beds were hidden by white mobile shades. Shortly afterward, its sight went blurry from rising too quickly. Still able to navigate despite its hindered sight, it threw its legs over the bed's side. The floor was cold, but not lethal. Without support, its legs almost went underneath its weight but managed to control them. A lone mirror hanging beside a cabinet. It saw its own reflection, revealing its being. A rather tall figure it was, bearing pure white skin with a little bit of green. Lower down its body, it held a white slim gown look that partly covered its long slim legs. Possessing a big white head, green hair curling from behind between her two large red eyes. Spikes protruded from the face's side, reminiscent of some sort of mask. A red fin-like horn protruded from the chest and as it turned slightly around exposing another one, its arms completely green with three fingers. Upon the mind clearing up, it quickly remembered it was a female.

Although she was recovering her senses, the future remained unknown. Where she was previously was too dangerous, no other ideal place could come across her mind. Below the cabinet was a black desk below, she went over to it for any clues. A variety of tools remained in capsules, small capsules accompanied by some sort of harmless looking weapon. Her mind began acting up once more, the faint pulse of something nearby firmly put fear in her heart. She continued to look upon the desk, hoping for whatever the source to ignore her as it became slightly stronger. Afterward, a multitude of pulses went throughout her head prompting her heart to speed up. A high pitched feminine voice echoed throughout the room.

"So...you're finally awake."

She quickly turned over, nearly falling and having to support herself with the desk. The sight of three beings stood twelve feet away from her. They consisted of an alien-like nature, their bodies covered completely by gleaming black armor that would go into segments like scales. A strange symbol was imprinted on their chest as well as the front of their smooth helmets. She remained frozen, unable to get a word out. They remained a mystery, but now she saw there was nothing no other human attribute about them other than their figure. Their artificial voice added no comfort, she kept her distance in silence. The middle soldier slowly made its way toward her, it held its hands out to the other two who attempted to follow. They remained stationary as the being closed the distance. It held its hand out to her.

"You were gravely injured….we healed you…."

The being stopped to her wide eyes, it slowly lifted its hands toward its head," Ok….ok, I understand. You fear us….what you don't know. How about this...perhaps….something you're familiar with."

The being's fingers touched the upper neck, streams of air flowed out from beneath it. Upon taking it off as it fell to the floor, it revealed a human female. Olive skinned, possessing blue eyes and short black hair. The sight of a non-artificial being put her fear at ease, but didn't quench it. She managed to calm her breathing, but kept her hands firmly on the desk. The female soldier smiled, placing one hand on her chest.

"I'm Samara Hellfire, you're in the presence of the Vanu….Vanu Sovereignty."

One of the soldiers behind her spoke in a masculine voice," Can we be sure it even understands our language?"

Samara rolled her eyes," In due time, patience is key nowadays...or have you forgotten?"

"Apologizes, just expressing concern as all. Excellus is hoping for progress as soon as physically possible."

Samara laughed slightly, turning to the two soldiers," Tell me, is the pokemon awake?"

"Clearly."

"Then I say that is far better than her being unconscious now isn't it. You two go tell him we've made contact with her," She turned her attention back to her, smiling with warm eyes." Leave her to me, i'll tame her."

"With all due respect, humanoid or not she is still a wild animal."

"And if war taught me anything, one must always exercise caution."

"As you wish, c'mon Ryan."

One of the soldiers removed their weapon from their holster and sat it on one of the medical beds," Just in case, one can never be too cautious."

They both left the room, leaving the two alone in peace. The pokemon relaxed slightly, standing slightly more straight before her. Samara continued her attempt to calm her.

"I'm so sorry for them, they're afraid of the power you might wield. However, I never seen your kind before," She backed away from her, frantically searching the medical bed's desks for something." I need...I...you know what stay here, I need a medic to explain…"

Samara was heading away from her, the pokemon's heart sped up. She could feel herself about to cry, calling out to her without opening her mouth.

"Wait...don't leave me."

Samara stopped dead in her tracks, slowly turning with wide eyes. She slowly made her way back to her.

"You...you just...but I didn't hear you….wait," Samara face lit up with joy, quickly closing the distance. The pokemon slightly jumped to the radical change in pace, trying to put on a weak smile for her coming back." You spoke through my mind didn't you, you're a Psychic type."

The pokemon nodded, Samara cheerfully shook her head," C'mon now honey, I liked it when you spoke. Surely we could try and start somewhere...right?"

Despite sensing the purity in her words, she still felt hesitant. Blurry images of soldiers in red raced through her head, the world's snowy blanket tainted with the blood of those who opposed them brought aching pain. The unpleasant sensation grew, grabbing her head while slowly backing away from Samara. Moaning was the only sound she could produce, slowly descending to her knees as she screamed. Samara rushed over to the pokemon, bending down on one knee.

"What's wrong, did the medic miss something…" She grabbed the pokemon by the shoulders, shouting in distress." Please... talk to me, what is the matter."

"I….I….I remember, I remember everything. The….fighting….the ruin it brought….constant worries," Human faces became practically crystal clear, the marching of red soldiers going across the landscape through the ruins of the forces of blue. Tears began to run down the pokemon's eyes." I...could never….rest...so tired. I….hated….them….I hated them all. The blue….helped me cope….with the darkness inside. They marched….they came in full force...killing them all. A lost soul, traveling away from the red. Then….then….the blue…"

"The blue what!?"

"They...shot me….from a distance," Her slight whimpering twisted into a river of tears, covering her face from Samara." Why….they were pure...why would they turn against me?"

Samara wrapped her arms around the poor soul, stroking the hair of the creature while speaking in a critical tone," To hell with the Terrains….the Conglomerate...to hell with all of them. Continue to live...knowing we killed those bastards who shot you. Dammit...I said I stop cursing."

In due time, the pokemon stopped the flow of tears. Her breathing became controlled, focusing on Samara's comforting stroking of her hair. Samara spoke in a low calming tone.

"Have no fears now, i'll take care of you….we all will. Our efforts are to end the pointlessness of it all...to transcend all of this we've wrought to this world. I'll teach you the ways of the Vanu, we'll help erase the darkness eating your heart. I promise you power…the might needed to stamp out your nightmares...the corrupted Terrain Republic.

"Gardevoir...that's my name."

"Well...Gardevoir, you're safe with me."

"But….but what happens now?"

Well now, you'll have to come with me. You were supposed to stay here, but I won't allow that...not with your trama."

Samara aided Gardevoir too her feet, swinging her arm around her neck. Proceeding further down. The pain dissipated, Gardevoir was finally obtaining peace. With her power renewed, she denied the concept of hindering Samara. Gardevoir slowly unraveled her arm around her.

"Thank you for everything, but I can stand on my own."

"You sure, I really don't mind."

"Positive, i'll just follow you."

Leaving the medical beds behind, she found herself on the outside. Enclosed in an area behind tall thick walls of steel, an exhibit for the air pokemon to see. The abundance of man-made buildings occupied by the large number of Vanu soldiers running around like scattered Rattatas. A scattered collection of small or medium sized looked back at Samara , some of those who traveled around held more bulky armor while her figure remained smooth and slender. Gardevoir followed Samara throughout their large base. occasionally looking up at the Vanu soldiers sitting among the watchtowers. Her eyes widened to the fact she barely noticed the snow around, despite the fact she became used to it. The cold had little sensation, less than usually. Could have been from the fact that it was daytime, rays of light beamed down upon them. Samara occupied her time messing her arm, holograms popped up every now and then. Pokemon of different variety wore the signature armor of the Vanu, showcasing a similar close relationship like she witnessed with the blue. Despite the constant war, they too found the time to play with their pokemon, to smile once in a while.

Samara went up to a purple console displaying a holo screen of certain tanks, and other ground forces. She waited patiently for Samara to finish what she started, stopping her interaction to the sound of a masculine voice.

"I see number two hundred seventy one has come too."

Upon the two of them turning around, they were confronted by another Vanu soldier. The human held a similar blackish purple design as Samara, but broader around the shoulders. He possessed a hood going around his head, going further down into the form of a cape. Samara stepped toward.

"Excellus, you know of her?"

"Indeed, blood does not lie," He proceeded to close the distance between Samara with his arms behind his back." A Psychic and Fairy type pokemon, nicknamed the grace pokemon. Bipedal too, a useful posture to have during these tough times."

Off in the distance, animalistic sounds throughout the air. From the air came a shadow, flapping toward Excellus. He held an arm out, a black bird slowly descended on him. Taking the form of a crow, its yellow beak was slightly crooked. The hair sitting at its head was reminiscent of a hat. Possessing red eyes, and its bottom neck surrounded by feathers going up in spikes. The tail took the shape of a broom's end, four toes on its feet with three at the front with one at the back. She recalled it being a Murkrow. The chest was covered in a leather-like black armor with the Vanu symbol imprinted in the stroked the pokemon's side, seemingly the pokemon enjoyed the petting. He spoke to his companion.

"Echo, perfect timing. Is the Vanu's path clear, no hostile sunderers to be seen."

The pokemon nodded its head, giving off a cheerful squawk. Excellus budged his arm upward, Murkrow flew into the air. He turned his attention back to Samara.

"Having only three fingers can make firearms difficult, but as seen before nothing they can't adapt to. Once we clear out a Conglomerate infestation, she'll begin training there."

"With all due respect sir, that wouldn't be wise."

"Explain."

"As far as I see, she has crippling trauma from being around the Republic and betrayal from the Conglomerate."

"They're barbarians Samara, holding ideals that doomed our past. What did you expect to hear. We all suffer from this war, not just humans. Are you saying she is not fit to fight, speak now if that's the case."

"She…," Samara looked at Gardevoir before turning back." She seems fit to me, that's not the issue at hand. You know of the Republic's aggressive push for our territories of late, it's why you called for my team in the first place. Can you also recall our rule with these creatures, we wouldn't make a pokemon fight forcefully. The more interruptions from the Republic we get, the more likely she is to say no."

Excellous let out soft laughs, crossing his arms," An...and if I had to guess, you want her to be relocated is that right? Where exactly, the Republic is everywhere."

Samara positioned her hands on her hips, giving him narrowed eyes," Indar."

"Indar, really?"

"Last I checked, the Republic has severely weakened there since my days here. It's basically just a one front war now between the Conglomerate."

"But...you spoke of betrayal also, how will she fare among them?"

"The thought of the Republic was crippling, but I sense a love hate relationship with the NC."

"Hmm, I suppose I can trust your judgement. We are not in dire need of a pokemon that badly. I'll look into a team that can…"

"No need, I already know of one. All I ask is that I take her there myself."

"Intriguing this is, to grow such curiosity for a stray pokemon. Glad to see you're patience for these pure creatures keeps your vision clear of this accursed illusion, even if you never befriended one."

"Untrue, I had my fair share of pets during my days in Hossin. Plus it's my duty sir, I never took enjoyment from their deaths."

"Nevertheless, you have my permission. I'll give you one day with your….partner I presume. Once that expires, I bid you to come back. Our momentum is returning, but one can't be too careful. Upon regaining a strong leash on the Terrains, you may go see her as you see fit."

Samara straightened her hand, bringing it up to her forehead," Thank you sir."

Excellus nodded, walking away from the two. Samara's expression relaxed, turning her attention back to the console. She stood there with her arms crossed, not saying anything or attempting movement. Gardevoir broke the silence.

"I figured that was your intention...to take me in."

"I'm sorry, I should have told…"

"Don't be, I know you had no ill intent. Infact, you promised me the power needed to destroy the Republic. Sorry to say, that was a dead giveaway," She walked to Samara's side, grabbing onto her hand." I only just discovered your faction's existence, I have no quarrel with you nor the Vanu. If what the man says is true, i'll be in peril no matter how far I go. I'll gladly join your crusade, a thanks for giving me another chance at life."

"You do understand….you'll have to kill people and pokemon," She turned her head toward Gardevoir." You know that right?"

Gardevoir's head dipped toward the snow," I've...killed before."

"Really...I mean…"

"My first….a Terrain soldier, he thought me a Conglomerate spy. I hid behind a batch of tall rocks, as he came within my proximity I lifted him off the ground. I...then threw him in the path of one of those tanks they had. It's what I did, to relieve myself of the anger I built up."

Samara smiled, rubbing her on the head," Then you'll be just fine, just need to get you away from them...until you're adept at killing."

Samara retreated from the console, Gardevoir following closely after her. The thought of having to eventually fight didn't come as a surprise like she stated. Unfortunate enough to find herself on frontlines between the TR and NC before their encounter. Day after day went by where she had to hide herself, or end up like her friends who got too close to the Terrains during combat. She overheard their ideals of the creatures who inhabit this world, they too should want order. Pokemon were to be controlled, monitored for they had enough of rabid-like animals from whatever world they first inhabited. Within this war, they chose not to trust unsecured variables. Not knowing much of the Conglomerate at the time, she kept herself from either side. Food that could keep her content within the tundra became the first worry that drove her toward the dark reaches. No matter how far she went, she could never find untouched ground. Her mind ached once again, irritation grew on her face from what they put her through, intentional or not. She hated the sight of them, could barely stand the thought.

A glimmer of light did pass through her darkened mind, a group of people who favored her presence. Instead of a dangerous variable, they saw an injured creature. Added with the kindness of Samara, she held no fear of the Vanu. Whatever ideals they believed in seemed to favor the pokemon at the end. She had no hope against them solo, but this new branch of beings may give her the knowledge needed. A smile went across her face, the thought of dispensing all her rage against the source, to avenge some of those who she called friends felt frighteningly good to her.

Through big entrances within the wall, they made their way outside. The sight of a large platoon of tanks made her feel at ease. The odd thing that moved her emotions was they avoided contact with the ground. None of the other factions held this ability, always on the ground disregarding the flying machinery. The middle of the tank held a ovalish shape to it, the frontal portion being gray with the upper being purple consisting of a cannon that most tanks shared. The bottom portion held a slightly smaller gun, heard about a weapon that looked similar to it called the chain-gun. The sides were bulkier with a darker shade of purple, the Vanu symbol expectedly printed at the side's bottom portion. A truck like vehicle came around the corner height wise bigger than the tanks with a more straight forward rectangular build. A six wheeler possessing two turrets on the top consisting of purple and gray coloration. From the side doors came a Vanu trooper, coloration was the same but designed differently than Samara. Shoulders went up in a spike, the helmet held an opening allowing her to see his brownish skin. Samara ran to the man, waving to Gardevoir to come along. The man gave a smile to Samara approaching.

"You seem to be in the quite the hurry madam."

"Do I look like a madam to you, fall in line like the rest will you."

The two shared a laugh, the soldier continued,"Well anyway, you need something?"

"You mind taking Gardevoir and I to the warpgate."

"Well now, that's quite a ways away. However, I suppose I can do that one favor for you. Has to deal with the pokemon i'm guessing?"

"Correct, taking her to Indar. I'm hoping the Conglomerate remain still at the frontlines."

"Hey, that's your business. I'll open the back for you."

Upon the man going back in, the entire backside opened up. Samara grabbed her hand. leading her inside. A darkened room with a blueish glow inside, a multitude of seats lined up against the sides. Two metal pillars with a console strapped to the side of each went up to what seemed to be the turrets. They sat together on the first two seats, the hatch lifted itself back up. Several seconds passed, the vehicle started moving. Samara hummed a tone to herself to pass the time, messing with whatever device on her arm. Gardevoir leaned against the wall, lost in her own thoughts. Never once did she hear about the Vanu, the Terrain's strong hold on their territories must have kept her friends from talking. Time seemed to drag on forever, but eventually she felt the truck come to a halt. The back hatch opened, a blast of fresh air flowed past her. Off in the distance sat a rather bare base, surrounded by a towering green force field that reached for the skies with three massive spires emitting it to her understanding. Samara jogged off, Gardevoir running after her. Despite the war, silence was all there was to here. No signs of conflict, this must have been the heart of the Vanu's hold.

Samara tapped the vehicle's side, he drove off without so much as a word. Samara slightly nudged her before getting a head start.

"Race you to the warpgate."

She was surprised at her calm, unstressed expression. Running at a speed that would rival some pokemon, yet didn't seem remotely winded by her sudden burst. Gardevoir tried to run after her, every second only added more distance between the two. Sensing she was in a losing struggle, she bit down on her teeth before jumping sharply forward until her chest looked to collide with the ground. Her descension stopped, slowly levitating above the ground. Her speed drastically changed, gliding across the tundra as if an aircraft within its element. Despite Samara running at the same speed without missing beat in foot patterns, she quickly closed the distance before passing her with ease. Regardless of sensing her own disadvantage, Samara kept a smile on as she called out.

"Hey now, that's just plain cheating."

Feeling a sense of satisfaction, Gardevoir turned her body backwards. She crossed her arms wearing a smile, maintaining a speed that matched Samara. Although winning, she held a great respect for the human. Despite losing, she still never attempted to give in. Maintaining the same speed with steady breathing without slowing down. Upon turning around to see if her path was clear, the shield was closing in fast. She halted her body before colliding with it, upon landing took a few steps back. Samara caught up, wrapping her arm around her.

"Why you stop, you almost won?"

"isn't this your base...i'm an intruder….right?"

"Well...yes, nanites that don't belong to the Vanu can't pass through it...or none at all can't either. No worries though, to aid in your recovery they put a little bit of me inside you."

She turned to Samara with wide eyes,"I...I beg your pardon?"

"Some of my nanites are inside you, it'll recognize you as an ally."

"Nan….ites….what are nanites?"

"You'll see, they don't make it overcomplicated. Go on in, it won't bite you."

Samara dragged Gardevoir toward the field, slowly grasping her hand. Upon lifting it through the field, Gardevoir felt a growing burning sensation. Her heart rate rose, Samara kept the hand through despite her growing concern. The heat slowly dissipated into a soothing sensation. Gardevoir took a deep breath, letting out all the fears she had. Samara added to the comfort.

"What I tell you, it recognized you. I wouldn't force you to do something I wasn't sure of."

"I….I," Samara let go of her hand, she continued to hold it through."I'm sorry to have doubted your judgement."

"No worries honey, I was scared the first time too when they told me."

Samara went ahead, phasing through the field. Gardevoir follow through, the burning sensation returned thankfully. The purple building in the middle held a circular shaped with three large spikes protruding outward. Despite a lot of ground, airships and hover tanks remained around the area. A multitude of pokemon remained within the field too, most going into those trucks or airships. Three types she could easily identify. Walking on the edges of the main base were four legged felines consisting of almost pure white fur. The main body as expected consisted of a smooth black armor with the Vanu symbol on the side. It's blue face slightly covered by its curled white hair with one blue blade-like horn taking up a similar appearance to its tail. A decent sized weapon was attached to its upper side. She figured it was an Absol. Hovering over the grounded aircraft were shark-like creatures in the shape of a wide torpedo, their whole body consisted of the Vanu's purple armor. Their snouts held a dark purple star, their blood red eyes hid behind the gill slits in front of each. Two dorsal fins on the top and bottom, and two regular fins on the side. The shape of the creature was reminisant of a Sharkpedo. Peeking from behind consoles were these black spheres with a purple aura around them, holding large white eyes with fanged teeth. She knew them as Ghastly.

They continued up into the main base, going toward the interior. Squeezing past troopers who rushed out, she was met by a rather large room with plenty of consoles like from the other base. Samara interacted with one of them, upon finishing whatever she was doing she lead Gardevoir to another piece of machinery. Capsule like in design, a field going in between the two halves. Samara petted her before going into the same capsule on the other side of her. The outlines of the machine glowed a bright purple, looking down to see her own body glowing. She frantically looked toward the other side, Samara was gone. Few seconds later, her own vision dissipated along with her body. Upon her conscious returning, she stumbled out the tube onto her knees. Frantically trying to gather her breath. She looked up to the sight of Samara offering her hand, the other was occupied by some long weapon. Upon being lifted to her feet, they left the room to the outdoors. The warmth struck Gardevoir hard, perhaps a bit too hard. Slightly discomforting having been accustomed to the tundra, but nothing that was too difficult to adapt to.

Gardevoir touched down upon the soft sand of this heated desert, slightly jumping to the heat the sand produced. If it wasn't for the engines of aircraft accompanied by the roars of nearby pokemon, it held a quiet atmosphere to it like the other warpgate. Joy filled her heart to the sight of scattered batches of tall grassing beating the odds. She jogged to one batch, pulling out a decent number of them. She took several small bites before going about stuffing the rest in. Samara walked up beside her, smiling as she did.

"Welcome to Indar, not the most comfortable place to be but it'll suit our needs."

Gardevoir went about taking another hand full of tall grass, taking several bites off once more before consuming the rest while forming a smile," I don't mind, I like it here so far."


	2. Chapter 2

First Ascension: Enlistment

The Terrain's influence has spread throughout the other continents, hoping to strengthen their hold on their ideal grounds. With success came a hinderance, the NC took advantage of the weakened forces and spread their influence throughout the frontal TR territories. This cast relief on the Vanu, able to collide their forces to meet the NC head on. Their armored forces equally matched, they depended heavily on the pokemon's health to disrupt this standstill.

Samara made contact with a nearby friend of hers to aid with Gardevoir's training, he said they would meet at the old Alkali storage not far from the Warpgate. Leaving the safety of the forcefield, Gardevoir felt the intense heat Indar had to offer. Having to cover her eyes, she spotted the area of interest. A rather small base, more so than the one she recovered in. Two tower-like structures stood out the most, sitting out in the open for anyone to assault. They entered through the back way, some type of four-wheeled vehicle remained stationary in front of crates lined up together. Leaning against large bones sticking out of the ground, a helmetless soldier occupying himself with some sort of tablet accompanied by some creature covered in cyan armor she couldn't identify sitting next to him.

Samara pointed her weapon in the air, firing off a single round. The dark haired tanned skinned soldier casually looked over, his creature didn't even budge to her surprise. He shouted to the travelers.

"So...how's everything in Esmair?"

"Argh, do you remember Bastion ten days ago."

The man cringed slightly," Ooooooh, that bad huh?"

"No rest for the wicked, that's how I would described my days there. Haven't fought that hard since Hossin. I got one day here before it's back to the slaughter house."

"Then I won't keep you waiting," He snapped his fingers, the creature rose while steadily turning itself with only its legs." First, we'll flood her body with nanites. Next will be the nanofibers."

Gardevoir was a bit intimidated by this creature, he stared at her with no expression. A large bipedal just like her, holding a frog-like form. His body almost entirely covered up in cyan armor, holding a similar scaled design like Samara with identical coloration patterns. Possessed three fingers on his webbed hands, his cyan scarf wrapped around his mouth with the ending being reminiscent of a tongue. His red eyes only added to the awkwardness this being created. She gave off a weak smile, waving to the pokemon.

"Ni...nice to meet you…"

He clasped his hands together, bowing before her," I feel the same way….m'lady."

She took a step back, a few seconds of silence passed before she spoke up," Pardon….me, m...m'lady. Well...that's certainly a way...to welcome a stranger."

"I'm polite to all my students."

"Student!?"

Samara seemingly enjoyed the sight of her sudden change in demeanor, she rubbed Gardevoir's head," What he say, he isn't bullying the rookie is he?"

"He...he said i'm his student."

Samara turned to her friend," Your pokemon mentioned student."

His eyes widened, becoming energetic with his speech," Another pokemon who speaks through the mind, little will hinder her once she learns the basics. Anyway, my friend Greninja here shall aid with her learning when we're absent. Before we can do anything however, she needs armor at the very least."

"Got it, lets not waste any more time shall we."

They all headed toward another exit, seemingly leading to another exposed building. Crow jumped at such a great height, landing perfectly at the sharp end of those bones. The building held a entryway composed of a purple field. Seeing Gardevoir's slight hesitation, Samara spoke up.

"My nanites will keep you safe, won't even feel it."

Having no real reason to distrust Samara, she went about going. A familiar squawk halted her progress. A shadow of some bird flew toward them. Upon landing, she saw it was a Murkrow with some sort of cyan pad-like device strapped to its chest. It walked to the random soldier, pecking at his leg.

The soldier shrugged," I suppose it's meant for me."

He went to one knee, carefully dislodging the device from its chest. Upon doing so, the Murkrow flew off. He tossed it the air a couple times before yelling over to his distant ally.

"Crow, you are needed."

The pokemon stopped his balancing act, jumping high enough to land directly in front of him. He offered Crow his tablet.

"My attention is required at the moment, please aid her in the process."

Crow nodded, grabbing the tablet from him. He walked over to Gardevoir, bowing before her once more.

"We have no history, I understand any hesitation you may have. I have to ask for your patience however, I hope to make this quick as well as efficient for your convenience."

"If Samara trusts you….then i'll grant you my patience."

"Then after you m'lady."

Gardevoir went through the purple barrier followed by Greninja, the soldier directed his attention to Samara.

"So…," He lowered his tone, stepping away from the building." How bad was it?"

"Very, she would have died had we taken two more minutes. I wasn't going to have her die on me."

"What savage would attack a factionless pokemon just for fun?"

"Apparently the NC."

"Figures, they threaten our evolution as much as they do the creatures. If anything these creatures are our salvation, revealing the best in humanity...but not one fuck is given."

"Thomas…"

"Oh...right, sorry about that."

"It's sad really...when she communicated to me, I could almost...feel the scarring they left on her mind. That was just from the NC, she can't even think about the Terrains without falling over. Why even follow a government that cares not for nature's riches."

"They're lost Samara, they need to see their errors for redemption to be had," He began walking away from her, holding the device in front of him." Pardon me Samara, I need to see who asks for me."

Thomas traveled back to the bone yard, Samara laid against another building. She slid herself down to a sitting position. The heat bearing down her prompted her to tilt her head down, dusting away at her sniper rifle commonly known as the Parallax. Seeing Gardevoir moving around, smiling every now and then despite what she been through added to her already unbreakable belief that she fought for the right reasons. Her old world rotting away from mistakes of the past, these creatures offered a chance to make things right. A growing worry filled her heart, other continents remaining untouched may end up being tainted by war along with the poor pokemon of this planet. Just like Hossin, this war may spread. The Vanu's worst nightmare moved her up to this day, when the war ended in their favor would there even be pokemon willing to offer them salvation, when they dictate humanity's extinction. Seeing soldiers dying in front of you nor the nanites keeping sleep at bay could move the solid emotions of the Vanu. It was the thought of bitter hatred that could arise among the Pokemon, the sole thing that put a chill through their spines.

Samara lost track of time, getting some shut eye while being conscious enough for quick reactions if needed. The sound of her companion going through her mind prompted her to be more aware.

"How...do I look?"

Samara turned toward the building Gardevoir was last seen, before her stood an armored being. Her head still the same, but the remaining body possessed radical modifications. Her design held an almost similar appearance to Samara. Her upper body covered entirely in nanofiber, bright green lines ran up her sides with a red dot on each shoulder being encircled by a green lined shape. Her red fin now purely black along with the one on her back, arms designed in a metal tube-like structure which ended at what seemed to be an unfinished gauntlet around the upper arm consisting of a green line going up through the middle and splitting off around the red spike protruding from the end. The lower half of her body held the same situation of having no organic tissue being present. Her gown completely black, her upper legs in a cyan coloration with darker lines going along the sides and ending around her feet where green lines cut off the consistency by taking the appearance of footwear. Samara rose to her feet, walking to her.

"Like a survivor," She rested one palm on her shoulder." So...how you feel?"

"Stiff...stiff is one," Gardevoir rotated her shoulder." Sore is another."

"Don't fret honey, I already knew the injections would be the shocking part. Right now, the nanites are adapting to your body. Any side effects will shortly fade."

"I do hope so," Gardevoir grasped at her head, struggling to speak." I….I…"

"What...are they hurting you?"

"No...quite the opposite," Gardevoir looked down to her hands, a white aura surrounded them." My power….it's...growing...overflowing."

Samara's face lightened up," Oh good, they're acting as an amplifier. Any powers you may know will be more...flexible more….experimentable. An unintended side effect from the union of pokemon and technology."

"Really….huh...I can feel it swarming," Gardevoir grasped her hand constantly, the white aura returning with a more defined color." You're right, it's like my powers are alive."

Greninja approached them with the tablet in hand," Ok, everything is stable now. I look forward to observing your capabilities m'lady."

Samara noticed Thomas returning, having his assault rifle the NS-11A in hand. He was the first to speak up.

"It was Excellus, he wanted to be informed on her status."

Samara looked down at Gardevoir, petting as she did," She looks fine to me, just the usually side effects is all."

"Excellent, i'll inform him."

Thomas headed inside one of the surrounding buildings, Greninja prompting Gardevoir to follow him toward the bone yard. Upon reaching the grounds, he calmly sat himself down. He pointed to Gardevoir before speaking.

"M'lady, would you care to show me your moves."

"My what?"

"Your powers, we need to exercise them. I want to be fair with my training, so constructing around your powers is ideal."

"Umm….ok, if it'll help."

Samara gave her breathing room, trying to create peace within her mind. Reaching deep into her being, a storm of power rushed throughout her body in almost overwhelming quantity. She held her hand out in an attempt to release it. Unintended by her, a large yellow stream of voltage flew out of each fingertip scorching the bones. The unexpected bolts shocked her as well, she quickly pulled her hand back cutting off the circulation. Seemingly unbothered by her lack of control, he spoke up.

"I see, thunder is one of your powers."

"I...I…," She stared at her hand, twitching slightly with electricity coursing around it." I could only unleash one bolt….from my palm."

"A result of the nanites' union with your biology. Now if you may show us another."

Gardevoir closed her eyes, summoning another force to her aid. She spread her arms out, a circular field of sparkling transparent crystal walls surrounded her. Samara commented this time.

"Reflect, you do better on the frontlines in my opinion."

"If I can stomach war in its purity."

"Anything else you know?"

In that instant, Gardevoir imploded into a white diamond out of existence. Samara nodded to Greninja.

"Interesting, when used correctly teleport can be devastating."

"And will make for an excellent escape plan," Gardevoir walked past Samara, standing in the middle of the yard." Of course, i'll try to be brave."

Greninja stood up," And now your last power."

Gardevoir turned her head to a pile of metal crates near the entrance, her eyes emitted a pure white aura. The crates started emitting the same aura, slowly ascending high off the ground. The five crates moved simultaneously, lining up perfectly over top of one another. They stacked in front of her one by one, the white aura dissipated along with the aura around her eyes. Greninja commented on her success.

"Psychic, I expected as much from you. I must question how much you can lift though?"

"I suppose an average human if I had to guess, never tried anything heavier. I never put much thought into my power to be honest."

"Well m'lady, your power is now beyond your knowledge. Utilizing the nanites and your powers in unity will guarantee great results. At first you'll be afraid, but war will resolve you of it."

"So...you all have been cleansed of fear."

Samara spoke up," Fear is uncertainty, we follow the path toward evolution."

Thomas leaned out of the doorway, waving to Greninja. Greninja bowed before walking off. Gardevoir focused on her growing power, the nanites caused the sudden rise but wouldn't obey her commands. Like her blood, merely fulfilling a purpose despite the host's wishes. Although she lacked acknowledge of the Vanu's agenda, she hoped for their purity to remain. Thomas along with Greninja returned from their chatter, Thomas' expression was rather calm despite the news he was going to give.

"Samara, we got an issue. The Terrain's broke through our defenses on Esmair."

"Guess the NC weren't offensive enough," She grasped the gun with both hands."Give me a status."

"We've intercepted their strongest army, our scouts are assigned to take out those that split off. Metagross' seem to be leading the strongest forces."

"Forget the splitters, we kill the snake's head first. Tell any amateurs that unless you have a force sword don't focus on Metagross' heads with small arms, that's where their armor is the strongest. Focus on the joints connected to the head."

"Got it."

As they were heading out, Samara came to a grinding halt. Looking back at Gardevoir, the sadness on their faces almost matched due to this early departure. Samara tried her best to comfort her.

"I'm really sorry about this, I know we said a day. Once i'm done there i'll come back for you, that's a promise."

Seeing her leave only added more to her burning hatred for the Terrains. Despite wanting Samara's presence, she understood fully that the ongoing war was time consuming. It wouldn't be right to monopolize someone's time in dire times like these. Despite feeling lonely, she attempted to put on her best smile while waving. Greninja rested his hand on her shoulder before attempting to calm her.

"Thomas and I have known her for quite some time, she usually keeps her promises."

"Just start with the lessons already, I can't handle thoughts of the Terrains."

"As you wish m'lady, but I know there is a great disturbance within you."

"I don't want her to die, i'm indebted to her."

"She fights from a distance most of the time, she'll remain unharmed...hopefully. Now, to put your psych to the test."

Greninja's body slowly faded into oblivion, disturbed by this she stepped away from where she was. Frantically turning to all her sides, he was no longer within sight. She could still hear his voice all around her.

"Let your psych be your guide, a true method for survival."

Even with the sun still present, it was still getting noticeably darker. She shut her eyes tightly, her physically senses dulled. Surges of energy flowed around her in all directions, the life forces of other pokemon growing then dissipating within an instant. Too many to count, her trainer couldn't have traveled that far by foot. She strained herself to narrow down the search radius, little by little the life forces dwindled. The closest signatures reside near the Warpgate and up ahead past the hill overlooking this boneyard. She opened her eyes toward the wall between her and the hill. Being able to levitate would prove more efficient than taking the exit. She gave herself a running start. Focusing the little energy needed to gain flight, her psychic energy coursing through her body in an unusually manner. As she jumped to make flight easier, the height she traveled was far more than anticipated. Despite clearing the wall, she couldn't refocus for levitation to work. Flailing her arms around, she planted herself head first into the soft sand.

She rose up from her arguable success, looking down to her legs. What seemed like her green lines glowed a white coloration before quickly dimming back to green. She looked back at the wall, seemingly afraid of what just happened.

"What...what did they do to me," She looked down to her hands." Is this the nanites' doing? My goodness is this suppose to be better, I barely understand my powers anymore. First thunder, now my psych betrays me. Was I only just levitating my legs, what game am I playing here?"

Convinced her powers are beyond simply being stronger, the best course of action would be to relearn her powers with her trainer present. Slowly making her way to the top, she found herself faced with a long stretch of sand with multiply buildings off in the distance. The source she could feel was getting stronger, so she continued forward. She kept her faith to her savior, but her powers slowly became more foreign despite holding the same attributes. On the bright side of things, she was grateful for the heat toning it down. She closed in on the base directly in front of her, noticeably bigger than the last. Upon closing in on this base, she witnessed crates moving around with a white aura around them. Clearly the doing of a psychic, but the being responsible was not within plain view. She walked underneath the bridge, a higher number of buildings with a purple field on the side. She moved into the middle of the circling crates, the source was at its strongest here. Shortly afterward, she heard Greninja's voice.

"Good, your psychic will be your greatest ally when lost."

Greninja slowly faded back into view, sitting further away with his legs crossed. The crates slowly descended to toward the ground, the aura dissipating shortly after. Greninja spoke up.

"So m'lady, tell me what it felt like...your psych."

"There are plenty of things I like to address. Why can I jump higher now, why do I sense so many energy surges?"

"All nanites my friend, the gift that binds us all together among the Vanu. It is the future, their means to prolong their life as well as our own. Microscopic machines that bind to our being, created by the Vanu of old. Simply put, they enhance our being in several ways. Extending our lung capacity, strengthening our muscles' durability. They even take the role of building blocks for our armor, vehicles, and much more."

"Ok...that's interesting in its own right, but now it means to disrupt my powers."

"No no no, not disrupt...evolve them. You see, the Vanu favor all pokemon of this world...but choose certain typings to keep easy track of us. Psychic happens to be one of their favorites. The brightest minds among your species' type aided the Vanu to create special types of nanites, ones that deviate from the humans and the other factions….what rests in your blood as we speak m'lady. They're several types, yours are engineered for your type group specifically."

The veins along Gardevoir's arms glowed a white aura. She held them up, feeling the energy coursing through them. Greninja explained.

"Your nanites feed off your psychic energy, it's why you're stronger now. My guess is you tried to jump before levitating, unknown to you the nanites took the energy you gave off and applied it your legs. Every part of your being can be enhanced by simply adding a bit of your psych to it, even down to the armor you wear. A mutual relationship don't you think, the nanites make your psych stronger while you feed them your psych to push your power even further."

Gardevoir took a step back, surprised at what the Vanu managed to accomplish," Wo...wow, and this applies to all psychic types?"

"Everyone allied with us."

"And what of you?"

"I'm of a darker nature who also favors the water, mine are designed for one such as I thanks to the darkest ones. Teaching the Vanu the dark arts proved fairly easy, and now our cooperation sprout such great riches. I'm now a breeding ground, the nanites grow within me," Greninja threw his hands to the sides, a stream of water flew from them. Over time, the trail began making three puddles on each side. Each one rose, slowly forming a figure that started looking just like Greninja himself. Soon, each one spontaneously grew colors that matched Greninja perfectly. Each one spoke simultaneously." Feats such as this were achieved, a new form of evolution blessed to us by the combined efforts of both humans of Vanu and Pokemon."

During her time being comforted by the NC, she never heard of such extreme feats. All their powers remained relatively normal. Their physical strength may have been quite the sight to see, but pokemon minds responsible for these nanites was actually fascinated by this. Her nervousness of this nanite situation came to an ease, more willing to trust that those like her knew what they were doing. Amongst the buildings came another female pokemon, her energy surge some-what similar to her own. Bipedal like Greninja, consisting of a fox-like appearance. Her main body, arms and legs were coated in armor of the Vanu consisting of white purple coloration. The lower portion of the chest armor didn't cover her purple fur going outward like a dress. Her head on the other hand remained bare, the lower portion pure white fur that protruded outward slightly while the upper from her nose up to the ears consisted of a purple coloration. Possessing a large circular purple tail with a stick protruding out of it. She knew her as Braixen, she walked toward Gardevoir.

"The Vanu are human just like the Terrains...the Conglomerate, just merely wielding their own path to salvation. However, the Vanu understand more than anyone that this isn't their planet. Surely you must have had thoughts...thoughts of what would happen if one faction finally proved victorious. We formed a great bond with this foreign race, but we must be wise to choose who would benefit us the most toward the end," Braixen stopped a few inches in front of her, despite the height difference stared up at Gardevoir with only a calm expression." The Terrains are foolish, their oppressive reign will doom their humanity to our wraith. The Conglomerate wish to repeat the mistakes of the past, I want to continue life with the Vanu...I believe in the Vanu. Question is do you truly believe in our cause, or you simply picking a side for your own sake?"

She felt her insides turning, her breathing became shallow. Having the Vanu's true intent remain unknown and joining due to being indebted, she had no truly inspiring reason for Braixen due to not thinking about the matter much and felt guilty. Mustering her remaining courage, she made herself not back down and attempt to give some food for thought.

"I….I….i'll admit to this, I know not of your faction's ideals...i'm just recently finding out about your faction's very existence. I swear to you however, my reasons are purely selfless. I wish to not see the Terrains victorious….for they killed those I firmly knew, other than that….i'm indebted to one who saved my life. So far your faction means well, but I can't bring myself to speak ill of the blu….Conglomerate you may say for they did aid me despite betraying me. Would this suffice?"

A smile grew on Braixen's face," My my, at least you're honest. I like that...no...I respect that. I can understand your view of the Conglomerate, and I enjoy your hatred for the Terrain. I'll find myself enjoying your progress from here on. Don't worry about your powers, they'll be normal to you in no time.

Braixen backed slightly away from Gardevoir, Greninja's clones dissipated back into puddles. Greninja rose from to his feet, looking up toward the bright orange sky.

"Sadly for you, there is only so much you can learn away from combat. You'll have to learn while in battle for the most part. The least we can do is teach you how to handle yourself when up close to someone. For the moment you'll be attacking from a distance with weapons designed for your hands, but we'll be sure to continue your training during our calm hours."

Braixen spoke up," For example, when you don't feel like wasting ammo…."

Braixen was seemingly taking a deep breath, but something ominous was emitting from her. Sensing danger, a surge of power rushed throughout her body. Braixen exhaled a wide cloud of red flames, Gardevoir instantly teleported upon feeling the heat. She reappeared behind Greninja, the entryway almost entirely blocked by flames. She looked to Greninja, his body immediately burst into a cloud of smoke revealing a piece of wood. Braixen looked back with a sinister look, grabbing the stick imbedded in her tail. Upon whirling it around, the flames rose to the air circling around her. She slowly pointed her stick toward Gardevoir, the flames rushed toward her in one big stream. Gardevoir held her hand out with several crates emitting a white aura before floating toward her. The crates collided together in front of the blazing trail, flames splitting off in all directions upon slamming into the wall of crates. Taking deep breathes occasionally for she struggled to maintain the crates' formation. Her energy spreading throughout her body made things difficult.

Now frustrated with her sudden aggression, she sent the crates flying toward Braixen. Closing in fast, Braixen calmly tilted her stick upward. The boxes became surrounded by a white aura once more before coming to a stop, falling to the ground harmlessly. Braixen commented on the situation at hand.

"Clever...using the crates like that, but it can't always be about your powers."

Braixen teleported out of view, however the energy surge moved behind her. Gardevoir turned around with wide eyes witnessing Braixen reeling her arm back. She received a solid punch to the face that sent her to the ground. She clenched her face in distress, somewhat impressed on how hard such a skinny creature could strike. Braixen extended her hand out for Gardevoir, she grabbed on being pulled to a standing posture. Braixen spoke up.

"At least you can take a hit pretty well."

Gardevoir still clenching her face," That was a very cheap shot."

"Not really, you knew we were fighting. Just showing you how to pun…"

Gardevoir drove a fist straight into her face, Braixen's head reeled back but not falling over. She took a few steps back, rubbing her head slightly. Gardevoir smiled at the retreating pokemon, mocking her previous statement.

"Punch like that...right?"

"Not bad, can put little more behind it though. I can assure you i'm not fragile."

"Unlike you, i'm not out to hurt you to a large degree."

"Meh, nothing the nanites can't fix. Speaking of which, you should get used to your nanites while we're doing this. They listen in on your thoughts, just give them some of your power and they'll do the rest."

"Ummm, that's easier said then done."

"Ok look, let's say I want more power behind my punch," Braixen held one arm up, the veins around it grew a faint white aura." I think I need more power around this body part, so they take the energy I give them and apply it. It really is that simply."

"If what you say is true, then i'll try."

She closed her eyes, attempting to conjure up her psychic energy. Deep in concentration, she felt slight tingling swarming throughout her body. Her senses improved radically over time, within the silence she swore she could hear Braixen's heart beat. She thought about the jump she made early, began thinking of her legs first. A slightly burning sensation grew along her legs, a surge of energy swarmed within them. She opened her eyes, slowly looking down to the sight of a white aura radiating from her armor. Braixen gave her some room, sitting on a nearby crate. She attempted to jump forward, a higher than normal height for her was the result once more. Now more aware of her situation, she concentrated the power needed to levitate herself slowly to the ground. Excited from her successful grasp of the concept, she conjured up even more energy with her entire body in mind. All of her being was covered in lines of this white aura, she went about cutting off the circulation. The aura dissipated throughout her body along with the surge of energy.

She felt a fast approaching energy signature behind her, upon looking came Braixen flying toward her with her one leg extended. Gardevoir leaned to the side just barely avoiding it. Braixen flew past her, sliding against the sand while forcing herself to turn back to Gardevoir. Without a minute to rest, Braixen rushed toward her. Braixen went for a fast jab, Gardevoir went in for a counter. In quick succession, she lowered herself slightly with her head barely dodging the jab. She slid her right arm up and along Braixen's jab. Upon reaching her shoulder, she quickly and with great force sent one foot into the back of Braixen's leg. Braixen's leg fell to the sand, Gardevoir had her free arm grapple the back of her head and propelling it straight toward the sand. Her other arm forced Braixen's arm to go as far back as it could. Braixen growled in pain, Gardevoir seemingly pleased with this knowledge, speaking calmly while continuing to restrain her over her.

"Nice try, but as you can clearly see….i'm not fragile either."

Braixen's one narrowed eye looked up to Gardevoir, showing off her teeth," You….you can't learn this….in the wilderness."

"I would agree with that statement."

"Then….where?"

Greninja once again faded back into view right beside Gardevoir. His wide eyes instantly told her he wanted to know as well, made even more so when he asked.

"I would like to know as well m'lady, that was a military maneuver you just pulled."

"You promise not to turn against me?"

Braixen spoke up," Maybe...if you let me go...i'll consider it!"

Gardevoir released her hold on Braixen, waited for her to balance herself before explaining herself.

"Before I found the Vanu, I sought out food within Terrain grounds. Through a series of terrible events I made it my goal to flee from them and their fight against the Conglomerate. I found myself among the Conglomerates, blinding entering a structure they occupied."

Braixen spoke up,"Don't tell me….you actually worked for those idiots?"

"It seemed like it was going there, but it never came. This is why I can't bring myself to hate them, they treated me with a great deal of respect. I found myself able to eat regularly again, comforted me like I was one of their own. Regarding how I know close quarter combat, the new friends I made there would teach me on a regular basis. It seemed as if I was able to leave the Terrains forever. Two months later proved me wrong, when the Terrains finally attacked. I barely made it out without being noticed, and sought the safety of another Conglomerate base. That was when I was shot, to be rescued by your kind. That is the short and sweet version of it."

"I see," Braixen looked over to Greninja, his eyes closed toward the sand." Crow, what you make of this?"

Greninja spoke," What is there to make, it's simply her story. This one here could have been an enemy had it not been for the Terrain's interference if we mean to be picky. You seem sincere though, I have little reason to not trust," Greninja opened his eyes, pointing to Gardevoir." However, I know not the Vanu's reaction if the rest hear this, and not to have killed a Conglomerate soldier yet…"

"I'm afraid what he is trying to say is with that kind of background….you're just as likely to betray us in the eyes of others."

"Now don't be so harsh youngling, I merely mean the Vanu will be a bit cautious around you when facing the Conglomerate."

"Caution is uncertainty."

"Gardevoir attempted at reasoning," I understand, you wish me to prove my loyalty. To fulfill my debt to the Vanu, i'll direct my power to the Conglomerate….today."

Braixen smiled," Now you're talking, and what better than a night op."

Greninja interfered," No...now wait, the risk is…."

"The risk is minimal if we attack a small group at night with allies to direct her."

"Inferno, you're quite aware on what we discussed early correct?"

"She'll be fine, you know one of your best enjoys the night."

"Very well, make sure he is made clear of the weight of this ambush, if we can even find a suitable challenge."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hidden Offensive: Retaliation of the Vanu**

 **Despite Indar's heated first impression, it held a more comforting breeze of cold air when night neared. A clear difference in terrain, she still felt at home when the temperature finally dimmed down. Upon leaving Camp Waterson, the three Pokémon ventured through the wasteland to their objective. News from airborne creatures gave clues to potential sites to strike. Both Vanu and Conglomerate were neck and neck in terms of faction strength, slight advances through defenses quickly regained. Although the war waged near the middle, roaming Pokémon still seemed at peace despite gunfire filling the air from a distance. Before leaving, Braixen gave Gardevoir something to wield with some inspiration from her design. A sniper rifle known as the Ghost. It held a similar design to the weapon Samara used, consisting of a purple gray coloration. She kept it on the large holster on her back, given several ammo patches to wrap around her belt.**

 **During the journey to wherever, Braixen took the time to explain an important note during the war. Each faction held a theme of typings, usually attempting to avoid deviating from them. The Terrains utilized Steel, Ground, Poison, Dragon, Bug, and Fire. Conglomerates usually kept themselves content with Fighting, Water, Grass, Rock, Normal, and Flying. The Vanu held a great preference over Psychic, Dark, Ghost, Fairy, Ice, and Electric. This was made to hopefully hinder the efforts of spies. Any dual pokemon that held typings of two factions were open for both, certain factions gaining the advantage if they controlled where these creatures lived. Anothering fact mentioned was her healing factor, the nanites held capabilities far beyond anything previously thought. From repairing skin cells to reconstructing entire organs and limbs, it was made perfectly clear to her if you merely severely injure your enemy they'll easily recover like it never took place if given enough time.**

 **They closed in on the frontlines, nothing but constant fighting to be heard for miles. The gunfire didn't set off her stable emotions, but the energy surges of lifeforms quickly fading away made her confidence dwindle. Tired of running however, she let the thought of vengeance push her forward. Another airborne Ghastly warned the group of a small group of NC scouts were attempting to capture a defenseless base called the NS Material Storage. Fearing the Vanu would be too preoccupied to deal with this, it asked them for assistance. Filled with joy, Braixen gladly volunteered them for the job at the expense of Gardevoir's attempt at inner peace. Night finally laid amongst the sky, the only trace of light radiated from the moon surrounded by an overabundance of stars. Upon reaching a wide hill, Greninja stopped the group before going up.**

 **"** **The Storage is right over this hill, should have no idea we're coming. Braixen, take to the hills and warn us of reinforcements. M'lady, you're with me," Greninja looked to the hill." There are no motion sensors, and their communications have been disabled. A nice calm mission for a beginner."**

 **Gardevoir questioned his knowledge," How would you already know this being we just got here?"**

 **Her heart froze to a deep voice that echoed, her whole body began to feel cold," I….am the causation….their ruin."**

 **She slowly looked behind her, witnessing a swarm of dark tendrils rising from a pool of darkness. A figure of pure darkness rose from this pool, a gleaming blue light shined from looked to be the head. It rose fully from its darkness, color of some sort started to fade in. This bizarre creature held only a Vanu symbol on the lower portion of its chest. Half of its small head was covered by its fog-like plume of hair moving on its own will, showcasing one bright blue eye. Along with a spiky growth around its neck, long dark arms consisting of three fingers. Hovering over the ground with no legs, it slowly approached Gardevoir.**

 **"** **Do you...fear death?"**

 **"** **Who….I…..I suppose….it's natural to say yes."**

 **"** **Good…"**

 **This bizarre being lunged toward her, grabbing her head and suspending her in the air with only one hand. Struggling to break herself free to no avail, Greninja tried to step in.**

 **"** **Nightmare, we don't have time for this. Release…."**

 **"** **I merely wish….to gaze into my new….ally's psych," Gardevoir's sight slowly faded into darkness, her senses also started to fail. Slowly her body gave up the fight, becoming motionless." Shhhh, let the darkness consume you...my friend."**

 **She fell into what felt like oblivion, no sensation within this space could be pick-up no life signs to feel. Within an instant, all her senses returned to her at once. She found herself back among the cold tundra of Ermish. A sharp pain ran through her chest and leg, sending her into submission. Her senses weren't as dull when the Vanu came, the sky painted blood red with winged silverish pokemon flying overhead in a circle. She rolled over to her stomach, a flat landscape of snow littered with the still bodies of Conglomerate soldiers alongside their respective pokemon. Terrain troopers surrounded the landscape, stationed as far as she could possible see. Fear overwhelmed her better judgement, laying still instead of pleading mercy. They went about their business, ignoring Gardevoir despite at times acknowledging her presence. Her hearing picked up the shallow struggling of a human near her, upon turning she saw a living Conglomerate soldier forcefully pinned down by the leg of a Metagross. This creature was robotic-like, consisting of crimson steel. Its main body and head shaped as a large disk with four large pillar-like legs consisting of three small spikes below the feet. Above its large mouth laid a gray X going across its face, two red eyes looking down upon its hostage. A lone Terrain soldier approached him, bending down close. The Conglomerate soldier looked over to Gardevoir, attempting to reach out to her.**

 **"** **R...run…"**

 **The Terrain snapped his fingers, gaining the Conglomerate's attention," Well….so much for your rebellion. Mind telling me how you expected this to go down, I mean really now."**

 **"** **How about do you mind fucking off!"**

 **Metagross increased its pressure upon the soldier, his breathing became shallower. The Terrain shook his head before standing upright.**

 **"** **Very well then," He walked away from him, snapping to Metagross." Metagross, use metal claw."**

 **Metagross released its hostage before slamming it back down on his chest. She cringed to the sound of breaking bones, he clenched his chest trying with all his might to hold back his scream. It lifted its leg once more, as high as it could go. The three spikes grew in length encased in a bright gray light. It impaled the soldier with no hesitation, a final exhale before his body went still. Another Terrain spoke to the Metagross' master.**

 **"** **Sir," He pointed toward Gardevoir." What of this one, it's not wearing Conglomerate armor."**

 **The Terrain remained silent for a moment, turning his back on her," She stays by their side despite their weakness, her love for the Conglomerate is plain to see. It too….shall join them."**

 **Metagross opened its mouth wide, a small orb of light grew in mass. She couldn't move, her body seemingly in more disrepair than ever before. A white beam of energy engulfed her vision, dragged back into oblivion. Several minutes have passed, her senses began to slowly return. A sudden surge of energy prompted the renewal of her conscious, she instantly lifted her upper body off the ground. Gasping for air, she frantically looked around her. The sight of Braixen and Greninja kneeling beside her was calming for a start. The dark being kept his distance, speaking calmly about her situation.**

 **"** **I saw...what fills your fear...for the darkness. Terrain souls cripples your better judgement, what made you….seek out salvation. The Conglomerate was that salvation….destroyed by the Terrains in one fell swoop, haunted by your accursed memories. You...you're filled with an untapped rage...a hidden conduit for the dark arts. I like her already….commander."**

 **Greninja looked up at the dark being," Can you finally see why I wanted you to stop?"**

 **"** **My dearest apologies, wanted to see what….drives her, her will you may say," The being bowed to Gardevoir." Introductions are needed here, i'm Darkrai….Nightmare is a nickname given to me. Much like how Greninja is Crow, and this Braixen is labeled Inferno. It's a pleasure."**

 **Gardevoir slowly rose to her feet thanks to the aid of Greninja," You….you're a...pokemon?"**

 **"** **I'm no psychic type, but in general….we are of the same kind you….and I."**

 **"** **But….I never seen your kind before."**

 **"** **A sad tale….for a dark being such as I. I….am the last of my kind, the sole fragile rope keeping my kind from oblivion."**

 **"** **I sorry, I didn't mean to…."**

 **"** **Have no regrets nor hold any sadness for this fate, for I have long casted my own. For what is a simply grain of sand compared to the desert. I look to live as a pokemon, not a Darkrai. I now live to protect my allies….serve the Vanu….as if they were one of my own. Something you will be very shortly."**

 **Braixen spoke up," I hate to intrude on this whole friendship building, but we got a job to do."**

 **"** **You're right, our past can wait. Commander, allow me to go through the front with Gardevoir. You should go through the sides, take care of any snipers."**

 **Darkrai flew past the group, waving for Gardevoir to come along. Greninja nodded to her, sensing some sort of goodness from Darkrai she quickly caught up to him. While scaling the hill, Darkrai commented on her weapon.**

 **"** **The Ghost huh, you know how to fire those….right?"**

 **"** **Besides what I held before, Braixen taught me the ways of this one. I can explain more another time."**

 **"** **Good, priorities is a smart thing to acknowledge. I must ask however, are you an infiltrator class?"**

 **"** **By design yes, taught me how to cloak and everything."**

 **"** **Good, I despise last second advice."**

 **Upon reaching the top, she was confronted with a base she couldn't easily scale. Two ways she could identify, one hill behind a rock seemingly going downward and one going upward toward the base. Sitting upon a rocky hill, it was easy to see how one could enter undetected. Darkrai moved forward slowly, Gardevoir followed attempting to make as little noise as possible. Going along the upper hill, they carefully went along the giant rock's side until the base was clear in sight. Among their cover came the sight of two Conglomerate soldiers. One leaned against a light post beaming light upon him, another sitting upon a staircase leading deeper into the base. Darkrai halted their progress, speaking silently.**

 **"** **The one on the stairs….is mine, kill the one standing as soon as my victim is occupied."**

 **He cloaked out of view, odd considering he literally was darkness to her. Pulling out her sniper, she focused on her target. The knowledge of basic weaponry gifted to her by the NC would prove to be their demise, as cruel as it was it still needed to be done for her saviors. Darkrai uncloaked along the staircase, holding onto some type of handgun. He slowly hovered over the human, quickly grabbing onto his gun with one hand and throwing it out of reach. Upon grappling over the human's mouth, the other began to turn. Gardevoir aimed for his head, speaking to herself.**

 **"** **Please…..forgive me."**

 **A shot was fired, a single purple bolt of energy homed in on the soldier. Upon reaching his head, his body glowed a green aura before he fell flat to the sand. Darkrai held his weapon directly on the struggling human's head, a few silenced shots and the human's frantic movements came to a quiet halt. Darkrai threw the body down the stairs, waving for Gardevoir to move up. She punched the ammo patch within the lower portion of the gun back into place before she jogged over to him, he congratulated her on such a simple task.**

 **"** **Clean work….my friend, guess you weren't being deceitfully on your claim as a marksman."**

 **"** **I'm glad myself that I still possess my touch."**

 **"** **So…..how was it….to kill a member of war?"**

 **"** **As I told someone before, I have killed before. The more I did it, the easier it became to cope. To continue it doesn't move me as much."**

 **"** **A natural response with such a history, continue to showcase that mindset."**

 **Darkrai cloaked without another word, she tried to reach out but touched nothing. She looked to the base, a sinking feeling was all she felt.**

 **"** **Well….I guess I have to make my own choices at some point," She slowly made her way up the stairs, cautiously looking around her for the enemy." Don't rush ahead, just….take it slow. They don't know you're here yet."**

 **She approached the door, a beam of light from a door post made her uneasy. She thought to herself for invisibility, shortly after her body disappeared into a barely visible figure. Upon entering the well lit metal room, she calmed to the fact of nobody being in their. She kept her wits about her, listening for any footsteps. She decloaked as she surveyed the room filled with two sided metal benches holding ammo, mostly only catching the sounds of gunfire and explosions going off in the far distance. Fearing she was only wasting time, she made her way to the door on the left. As she closed in to her next destination, footsteps began closing in from the other door. Luckily there was a pillar between them, for there was surely a NC soldier on the otherside. He yelled out to who she figured was her victims.**

 **"** **Hey, if your eyes don't see purple than don't fire your damn gun once."**

 **With the expectation of stealth on her shoulders, she feared his sudden arrival. Conjuring up her cloak in her mind. As soon as she was fully cloaked, the man came around the corner seemingly in a hurry. Her body froze, but her heart continued to try and fly out her chest. He took a glance her way, then quickly back to the door she entered through. To conceal her actions, she followed him slowly. The man walked to the door yelling once more.**

 **"** **Do you knuckleheads hear me, or do you want the Vanu bearing down on us this early."**

 **Upon reaching the outside, he glanced over to the scene where he took a step back while pulling out his gun in a flash.**

 **"** **Jesus Christ, the Vanu are on our asses already."**

 **Gardevoir stood several feet away from the door, aiming her gun to his head while decloaking. She took the shot, upon hitting him his body flung itself off the railings to the sand below. She hurried herself down the left staircase to avoid more interruptions, she was encountered to a room with several dead bodies. Several drips of water was scattered all over, she leaned against a wall to watch the other side, she nearly screamed when another soldier rushed by her without noticing. This lone soldier gazed at his fellow allies, Gardevoir took the time to set up a well placed shot to his head. As his body joined the rest, she went out the door he came from to be encountered with a long distance view of the desert. Afterward the loading of a gun behind her prompted utter defeat throughout her mind, and shamefully so early. She turned to see a lone NC soldier waiting beside the door with his gun trained on her. He spoke rather seriously but calmly.**

 **"** **Don't move any further in our base, just walk away slowly….and I won't kill you."**

 **Without so much as a warning, the soldier's neck violently and quickly turned to the left which gave off a loud cracking sound. The reasoning for this she saw was a decloaking Darkrai holding the human's head in place. As the soldier dropped his gun Darkrai seemingly went about insulting him.**

 **"** **Shhhhh," He let the human fall dead into the sand." You'll be more useful in oblivion."**

 **Two more soldiers came around the corner, Gardevoir was preparing herself to react with her sniper training on one of their heads. The soldiers trained their guns, to only be sliced in half by a falling Greninja wielding two katana-like blades seemingly made of condensed water. Showing off his calm expression like this was not a concern, he swiftly crossed his swords onto one of the soldier's neck, glowing a green aura as he desperately attempted to grasp his neck while stumbling backward. His partner pulled out his knife, lunging toward him with no hesitation nor fear. Greninja swiftly ducked under and past his attempt to stab him, kicking the back of his knee in forcing him to the ground. He threw one of his katanas through the stumbling soldier's helmet protecting his forehead, his eyes looked upward before falling over. He slid himself in front of the soldier, grasping his enemy's head and forcing it into his knee. As the man's head violently flew backwards, Greninja took his remaining katana and impaled through the very top of his head. Greninja kicked the man to the ground, offering no resistance afterward. Greninja bowed before Gardevoir.**

 **"** **Glad to see you're competent with a sniper m'lady."**

 **"** **Glad i'm doing well, though i'm terrible up close with this thing. Would you spare me a sword, would make things easier."**

 **"** **Oh, so killing is no issue?"**

 **"** **It's helping me vent my anger, and it's not like I could continue running forever from the Terrains. Regarding my swordsmanship, another habit I enjoyed before all this."**

 **"** **You've already proved yourself with a weapon without our aid, perhaps when we're all done."**

 **Greninja slid right beside the wall, he peeked around the corner to be met with bullets rushing past him. Darkrai, came to Greninja's aid looking back at her.**

 **"** **You see the stairs ahead, teleport over there," His free hand formed a growing black ball radiating with purple electrictricity, he threw it toward the aggressors around the corner with an explosion coming afterward." Go cover us from downstairs, but be careful."**

 **She warped to the end of the staircase, Greninja taking cover behind crates throwing what appeared to be water condensed shurikens aided by Darkrai firing his handgun with one hand and throwing shadow balls with the other. She proceeded around the corner where a NC soldier and herself were caught off guard. She fired a round without aiming, hitting his chest. Despite the direct hit, his body merely glowed green and hardly moved the man. He rose his gun toward her, without much thought she held out her free hand which surrounded the man in a white aura and lifted him slightly off the ground as his attempted shots flew only onto the metal beside her. She blindly waved her wave toward the door, his head rammed against the door's metal top layer. The man's body swung over and through the door, crashing back first to the ground with his gun sliding away from his grip. His irritation spoke through his growls, trying to get up while reaching for his pistol. She took one last shot onto his head, falling backwards motionless. She took a small glance at some building consisting of blue shielding further up before heading through the door.**

 **Toward her next destination, she took out the circular piece of metal from the gun, taking another from her belt and ramming it into it. Upon reaching her destination, she witnessed Darkrai taking cover behind a lone console emitting a blue screen. Off in the distance, Seven NC soldiers focused fired on Darkrai's location while barely missing. She caught a glimpse of two snipers on one of the buildings, seemingly not noticing her presence. She took her time aiming down her scope on one of them, firing off a shot that sent the victim falling over backwards. Her ally merely only glanced at her fallen ally before training her aim at Gardevoir. Her body glowed before a water katana pierced her chest. As it retreated from her body, she fell on top of one of the aggressors. Two Greninjas uncloaked, jumping off the building down upon the soldier busy removing the body off of himself.**

 **He gave off one fading yell as the two Greninjas impaled him with their katanas. Four of the soldiers turned their gaze to him, she took this opportunity to shoot one of the soldiers still trained on Darkrai. Darkrai launched another shadow ball their way, despite not killing it did send three of them off balance. The two soldiers fired at their aggressors, both Greninjas without any sense of urgency swiftly swung their swords deflecting all of the bullets from hitting. They closed their distance, leaning out the way of the soldiers firing path and sliced their guns in half. One Greninja slashed at one soldier's armor which glowed a green aura, the other impaled him through the heart. As he went down, the other soldier attempted to reach for his pistol. One of the Greninjas slashed at the man's hand, his scream silenced by both of them impaling him through the chest. As one of the soldiers finally got up, he was instantly gunned down by Darkrai's handgun. The remaining soldiers gave off a war cry, one aiming for Darkrai while the other aimed for the Greninjas. Neither one of the Greninjas tried to move, just as Gardevoir was about to scream to Greninja's demise they both dissolved into puddles of water as they got shot. Another Greninja uncloaked behind him, kicking the back of his knee in before impaling him through the chest killing him in the process. The last soldier stopped shooting, glancing over to his dead ally. Before he could aim at Greninja, Gardevoir ended up being the one to end his life with a well placed bolt to the head.**

 **After the battle ended, her legs nearly gave way on her. Her entire body tingling with her brain seemingly pounding away at the interior, that and more of the sensations she didn't even notice during the battle. Darkrai looked over to her, swiftly moving his handgun toward her while hollering to her.**

 **"** **Move!"**

 **She turned with no hesitation, catching a quick glimpse of a NC soldier from the corner of her eye. She desperately tried to jerk hard to her right, the soldier managing to place a few well placed shots on her upper body. She crashed to the ground, her sniper rifle sliding away. She covered her head with both hands, Darkrai rushing into the room unloading every shot into the soldier. The final bullet killed the man, his body sliding down the stairs. Darkrai went over to her, speaking calmly.**

 **"** **It's over…..he's dead now."**

 **She slowly unraveled her arms, clutching onto her side as she leveled herself. She stared upon her own body, not a wound nor scratch remained visible on her armor.**

 **"** **But….I felt it….he shot me."**

 **"** **Wait….you didn't know."**

 **"** **Know what?"**

 **Darkrai laid his palm on his head, shaking it slowly," Damn it Inferno."**

 **Shortly afterward, her body glowed a green aura and dissipated," Wait….was this what you were referring to."**

 **"** **Ok...let me explain at the last accursed second. Your armor produces a personal shield that protects your entire being. Another gift blessed to us by nanites. Once you get a helmet, you'll see how much you can withstand before your life is in the hands of your internal nanites."**

 **"** **Ok, I understand for the most part. Sorry, I should have been more alert."**

 **"** **Do not judge too harshly, you're alive are you not. We don't work alone in this war, you have partners for a reason."**

 **Darkrai looked over to the console, witnessing Greninja leaning against it with the blue screen now consisting of a shade of purple. Her heart jumped to the hollering of what she figured was NC soldiers. Greninja got off it, summoning two water shurikens.**

 **"** **Nightmare, do you wish to aid me?"**

 **"** **Of course, I hate for you to let even a single one go unjudged."**

 **Greninja gazed over to Gardevoir," M'lady, you've done well considering all things. Let us take care of these stragglers, take this time to calm your nerves."**

 **With that said, they both cloaked out of view. Gardevoir for her weapon and headed toward the console. She let herself slide down the metal pillar, taking Greninja's advice to calm her rapid breathing that aimed to knock her unconcious. Despite her skills in the way of weaponry, she thought for them to be used for self-defense. This war on the other hand had other ideas for her taught abilities, for them to become a reality promptly went up to the Conglomerates front door and killed them all just to scare her into the hands of the Vanu. Although she was very thankful for Samara's aid, she still felt a sinking feeling for every soldier she killed today. The painful truth of the matter was she would rather destroy those who aided her in her time of need than face an enemy who she hated more than death itself that she wasn't ready for. That fact hurt her, that weakness made her continue on with her killing so that she would quickly grasp the concept of battle and take the fight to the Terrains so she wouldn't spend her remaining days just fighting the Conglomerate.**

 **The noise of gunfire prompted her to hoist her gun up, radically looking in all directions. The hollering of soldiers silenced by gunfire and the sound of armor being shredded. She held her gun tightly, trying to focus on her hearing for any possible ambushes. Eventually, the distant firefight ended with silence. She let out her long held in breath, letting her gun fall to the ground. Feeling herself getting slightly stiff, she rose to go have another look at the desert. Reaching the base's side, she gazed out to the sight of simple yet calming sight of the landscape. An approaching figure caught her attention, two large vehicles that held a similar appearance to what she saw during her rescue. Fearing that the Conglomerate's anger had come to destroy her, she fled from the view back to the building where her first set of kills took place. The NC bodies present before were no longer in view, that fact however didn't faze her as she leaned against the wall listening to the aircraft's engines slowly fading into recognition. She witnessed the large purple ships fly slowly over the base past her view. She ran from her building to its side, peeking around the corner to one ship landing in an open area where the NC soldiers fought and the other landing on a building's roof.**

 **The ship's back opened up like a hatch, similar to the six wheeler. From within came Vanu troopers accompanied by their pokemon. They were met by Greninja and Darkrai, seemingly friendly with one another. She thought her words would mean very little due to just joining, she decided to maintain her distance. A womanish voice behind her alerted her, had it not been for its calm nature she would have rose her weapon instead of merely turning quickly.**

 **"** **Why do you hide from us?"**

 **Upon getting a clear view, two pokemon stood before her. Both consisting of the traditional Vanu coloration and symbol. The closest one was not only bipedal, but held a humanoid appearance much like herself. A tall figure slightly taller than herself, her main body held Vanu armor but was shaped in the form of a dress while segmented into four disk-like parts with one dark purple bow attached to each. Thin arms with a disk at the end, with hands consisting of purple skin. Her bare head revealed its black hair and purple face wielding blue eyes, her hair split off into four plates on both sides. Behind her was a smaller being consisting of a bipedal weasel-like figure, most of his body surrounded in armor. The armor went up the main body while not covering the red feathers encircling his neck, going along the arms while leaving the the white hands consisting of three claws untouched. Most of its face was covered, only noticing its purple skin due to the mouth being left alone revealing a devious smile. The armor wrapped around his head while leaving the wide feathers on its head alone. She knew them both as Gothitelle and Weavile. Gothitelle questioned her once more.**

 **"** **I wish not to belittle your skill, but are you….new?"**

 **"** **Ye...yes, I only joined early in the day."**

 **"** **I see….but to hide from your own, I can assure you we don't bite."**

 **Weavile jumped onto Gothitelle's side, having both feet on her side while one head on her shoulder kept him balance," Speak for yourself, we just know who to bite. So newbie….you took on your first base today. Go on….scream to the stars how you actually did something useful, or get to your knees and thank us on getting here to calm your nerves. No worries now, we won't judge ya….well….much."**

 **Seeing Gardevoir's narrow eyes expressing anger, Gothitelle took it upon herself to speak for her.**

 **"** **I don't sense either one of those emotions you speak of, she seems to be quite capable don't you think?"**

 **"** **Ahhhh, showing off your tough exterior now. Well….excuse the heck out of me miss, don't proceed to put one between my eyes now."**

 **"** **What he really means is thank you for securing this place, a Ghastly warned us of your efforts and I insisted we strengthen this hold."**

 **Gardevoir noticed both their eyes gazing past her, she turned to Greninja walking toward them. He bowed before the newcomers.**

 **"** **Gothitelle…..Weavile, glad you could join us," After rising himself straight, he gazed over to Gardevoir." And you m'lady, I've been searching for you. The Vanu grants you their thanks for your early interference.."**

 **Weavile snarled," Yeah, we were stationed there. I was having a good ole time dicing up fools before you scrubs needed rescue."**

 **"** **I apologize for the inconvenience, we wished to not overburden the newcomer here."**

 **"** **Yeah yeah, make it up by killing fifteen more before the sun rises."**

 **"** **As you wish."**

 **As they continued to speak about the the current situation of the Vanu's defensive line, Gardevoir noticed Braixen running toward. She directed their attention toward her approach. Braixen gave them concerning news.**

 **"** **Crow, the NC are coming."**

 **"** **How many?"**

 **"** **I saw three sunderers, foot soldiers were running beside them. They also got pokemon aiding their assault."**

 **Greninja looked over to Gothitelle," Were you all we were getting?"**

 **"** **No, more are on the way. We were supposed to guard the place until then."**

 **"** **Good, that's the plan then," Greninja summoned two water katanas." We must not falter, get ready."**

 **Greninja ran off with Weavile jumping off Gothitelle, eagerly slashing his claws together in anticipation as he followed. Braixen teleported out of view, leaving her alone with the Gothitelle. She smiled at Gardevoir, almost disturbing on how this situation hardly moved her.**

 **"** **I believe we should cover the entrance, i'll aid you."**

 **"** **I gladly accept your offer, but don't you have a weapon?"**

 **"** **I honestly saw it more fit to use my powers over technology."**

 **"** **Well….if I need help you'll cover me right?"**

 **"** **Of course."**

 **"** **Alright, I trust you."**

 **They both teleported simultaneously, appearing on the entrance's roof. She laid on her stomach, focusing on the hill. Gothitelle just sat causally away from the roof's edge, looking over to the two airships leaving the area to their hands. She held tighter with the sounds of vehicles in the distance. Fighting within the base started to her surprise, she turned to the sight of Conglomerate soldiers hovering through the air into the base or roof of buildings. Weavile aided Greninja with dealing with the pokemon that made it to ground as Darkrai dealt with flying pokemon overhead. Several bullets flew past her head, she refocused on the hill with NC troopers firing at her and the doorway underneath. She took the time to line her shots, able to kill off two of the incoming units. More showed up, keeping her from focusing on a single target. Her allies below couldn't fire much either, eight NC troopers maintained suppressive fire. Gardevoir yelled to Gothitelle.**

 **"** **Ok….I need your powers now!"**

 **"** **On it," Her eyes radiated a white light, the suppressing fire halted with a few soldiers grabbing their heads in pain. Her eyes dimmed back to normal." There, now watch the magic."**

 **Gardevoir witnessed the three hindered soldiers stand straight up like nothing happened, unloading on their own teammates. Despite her confusion matching that of the soldiers, she shot one of the non-betraying units in the head. The corrupted soldiers killed off two of their allies before the final two wildly fired at two of them effectively killing them. The one managed to kill off one more before running out of ammo, before the last soldiers could finish him Gardevoir killed him with a headshot while the Vanu below killed off the last. She witnessed the lone soldier reload his gun, the Vanu below her didn't fire at all. He pointed it at his own forehead, firing until he fell over dead with holes littered through his helmet. She gazed over her shoulder to Gothitelle.**

 **"** **What power did you exercise?"**

 **"** **Hypnosis, my favorite power to exercise."**

 **"** **Tha….that's incredible, I never seen your kind demonstrate such power."**

 **Gothitelle chuckled," Might be because you've never stuck around a Vanu's fight. Brawns is nothing without brains, and Vanu has brawns with a whole lot of brains. Anyway, you may want to refocus, I sense more soldiers with three pokemon coming this way."**

 **She would find out she was right, the large crowd of energy sources approached around the rock with two different pokemon trailing behind. One seemed similar to that of a bipedal reptilian creature, almost all of its body surrounded in armor. Six yellow balls stuck out from its back, its helmet consisting of two crest while blocking its eyes. The jaw was untouched, revealing an orange underside. Other than its long neck, its other very definable feature was the unarmored tail that took the look of a dense bush of leaves. Its long arms kept two elongated leaves untouched by armor, by design it looked like a Sceptile followed by a Sharkpedo.**

 **Her attempted shot at Sceptile failed with it blocking with its glowing leaves on the arm. Bullets flying across the lower field, the Conglomerate took hits but their shields remained up. Her shots took longer to line up, the NC became wise to a sniper and moved constantly. Killing one soldier prompted her to reload, a NC soldier peered from the rocks pointing a large weapon at her. Before she could finish, a rocket flew her way. She took her eyes off the gun to see the rocket closing in fast. Before she could do anything, the rocket became surrounded in a white aura. Sharkpedo furiously shook its head, flying their way without any concern for the amount of damage its shield took and the body itself. The rocket turned toward the incoming pokemon with its jaws wide open. Spontaneously gaining momentum, it met the approaching beast head on. Upon making contact with the upper jaw, it was engulfed in smoke. Sharknado fell straight down, hitting the metal with only darkness within the eye sockets.**

 **The Conglomerate continued their assault to the front, noticing a strange phenomenon happening during the fight. The bodies that were laying down began rapidly deteriorating into a green mist. Even with this war presenting odd ways of showcasing newfound abilities, she slightly recalled some of the NC bodies doing this when the Terrains attacked. Trusting that her new allies would explain more in the future, she let it pass for now. Sceptile kept its distance thankfully with its allies taking the frontal hits, Vanu maintaining a strong hold on their defensive line. The sensation of bullets hitting her shield on the back made her heart jump, she saw the bullets go beside her harmlessly. She turned to the sight of standing up Gothitelle holding two NC soldiers and their guns separately in the air with her psychic energy. The guns slowly began to collapse upon themselves to the point of being unrecognizable, she made their bodies crash into each other several times then slammed them into the metal roof. Upon lifting them up again, she threw them past Gardevoir onto the metal staircase below where she witnessed countless bullets penetrating the downed men. She sat back down with a smile, nodding to Gardevoir. Gardevoir nodded back, switching back to attempting headshots on the approaching wave.**

 **Taking a break from the front, she focused her attention to the raging battle inside the base. Several large swarms of fire tendrils traveled above the base after their flying prey with Darkrai continuing to disrupt aerial interference without issue. She walked past Gothitelle to witness Greninja occupied with blocking incoming fire from two NC soldiers with another Sceptile behind them on a roof, one of them killing off a Vanu soldier beside him. She quickly reloaded and focused on one of them. Taking a shot on the right one, he fell over dead while his partner didn't notice but Sceptile clearly did with its shocked expression. She aimed for the other's head, Sceptile looking her way and dashing to the NC soldier. She took the shot, but Sceptile annoyingly toppled over the soldier with his head taking the hit instead. It left a mark, but the shields absorbed most of the hit. Sceptile leaped off the soldier toward Greninja below, its leaves on its arms growing while glowing a bright green coloration. Both Sceptile and Greninja clashed blades, the soldier it saved looked up her way. Before she took take the shot, she accurately landed a few hits on her chest. Gardevoir fell over on her back from the impacts, her shield began flickering rapidly. Gothitelle slid in front of her, holding one arm out and summoned a green field of energy which caused bullets to ricochet harmlessly. Gothitelle looked back calmly.**

 **"** **You wish to fire now, or is this my new job?"**

 **Gardevoir shook off her stunned expression, sitting upright in a steady attempt to aim at the soldier's moving head. A successfully shot through the field silenced the soldier along with her gun. Gothitelle lowered the field, approaching the entrance's edge before sitting. Gardevoir felt the need to cover the entrance once more, the thoughts of Greninja and Sceptile stirred her mind back toward the interior. Grass types held an advantage over water, and someone would have to cover him as he fought. She positioned herself over the back edge, overlooking those two pokemon still clashing blades. Although barely noticeable, Sceptile held a more rapid and steady stream of attacks with Greninja merely blocking with little time to react to the next. She trained her sniper on Sceptile. Sceptile with one upward slash broke through both of Greninja's katanas. It lunged toward him with both blades far back, Greninja jumped just before the blades crossed through his body. He stepped on Sceptile's head propelling him further up, turning his body back to launch a stream of water down on it. Sceptile merely laughed to the water swiftly running down its body, annoyed by this taunting Gardevoir took a shot at it. Without looking back, it rose its blade to block the bolt, merely only turning back to smile. Anger prompted her to try as many times needed to kill it.**

 **As Greninja landed and the two pokemon met eyes, the puddles of water began to rise. Sceptile jumped back at the sight of four puddles forming exact copies of Greninja with one katana in hand. The furthest Greninja pointed at Sceptile, the rest went in a frenzy of slashes toward it. The tide clearly turned with it barely being unable to counter them all, slowly forcing it to walk backwards. The main Greninja ran up toward Sceptile, it pushed back two Greninjas with its blades to counter him. Sceptile attempted to slash diagonal downward for Greninja to slide beneath the attack. Right underneath it, Greninja held both hands out with a stream of water assisted by his legs propelling him up and into Sceptile's chin. Sceptile's head shot up with Greninja unraveling its tongue, it used the same water stream trick to propel himself down behind Sceptile. Upon hitting the ground, Greninja wrapped his tongue around Sceptile's neck forcing it as far back as he could while wrapping his arms around Sceptile's. All the other Greninjas dashed toward Sceptile with the tip of their blades aimed at its body, it tried to move the blades in to counter with Greninja's efforts slowing it down. All the blades penetrated it, barely missing Greninja's head. The blades dimmed with the clones falling into puddles, Greninja let go of Sceptile where it fell face first to the ground.**

 **She was relieved of his victory, willing to return to the entrance. An explosion beyond the base's walls prompted her to stop. Vanu airships were coming in from a distance, the fighting seemingly taking place beyond the wall with reinforcements hovering over the wall seemingly stopping. Heavy motors was all she could hear, explosion after explosion prompting that this may have been the conclusion. She ran over to the entrance's edge to see the NC troopers along with their Sceptile running down the hill. She fell straight to her back from her legs giving up on her, speedy aircraft hovering over the base raining down a barrage of bullets onto what she thought was stragglers. From her upward gaze, Greninja and Weavil walked into view looking down upon her. Weavil snickered to himself.**

 **"** **Exhausted from just sniping, where's the backbone you had early newbie?"**

 **Greninja commented," War takes its toll on the body, nanites or not."**

 **"** **Meh, save your so called nonsense after the war," Weavil lightly kicked Gardevoir's side." Get on up newbie, we move out shortly."**

 **"** **Where to now, and will it be appropriate for her?"**

 **"** **Approp…..this isn't going to be some slow stealthy nonsense you're accustomed to, now it's time for our way….full on assault."**

 **Greninja narrowed his eyes, his voice became more critical," You don't mean to invade deep into their territories do you?"**

 **"** **Oh you know me so well Crow, but don't take me for a fool. Our force isn't that big yet, but we will be attacking enemy fortifications."**

 **"** **Care to share."**

 **"** **Ok….let me explain the situation, we had a difficult time maintaining the crown since a large group of buggers made a nest near a control point. I've noticed they came in from the Palisade. We tried to thin their numbers, but they always got their backup from there. With a constant supply of tanks and sentries, we didn't have the resources to handle them and the main force. If we can take the Palisade…."**

 **"** **They'll have to act, and that's when we destroy their hold on that point."**

 **"** **Bingo, now lets get moving before those scrubs at the Crown lose it."**


End file.
